Photo: Tim Kiser (w:User:Malepheasant) · CC BY-SA 2.5Marietta’s library lends 6.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Washington County Public Library serves 59,711 people in and around Marietta from 3 locations. Last year it lent 555K books, movies and e-books and logged 113K visits.
What Marietta’s library is like
Ohio pays a big share
78% of the budget comes from the state, and 15% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 2.9 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.2, higher than at 87% of similar-size libraries. It’s 32% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Numbers are the library’s own report to the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024; Washington County Public Library serves 59,711 people in and around Marietta, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Marietta’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Marietta is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns, #71 of 914 in Ohio. Marietta is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Marietta’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
Civic life counts registered nonprofits, library visits and online volunteering groups, so it can miss civic life that runs through congregations, mutual aid or neighbors looking out for each other.
Library visits: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024. Nonprofits: IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File, October 2026. Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. How TownRatings grades civic life →
176 community nonprofits are registered in Marietta
13.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (24 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 5 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.5%
8.5% of Marietta’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.5% in the typical Ohio town and 7.5% nationally.
Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where Marietta’s residents live; 2022.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
555K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
175,108 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Washington County Public Library serves 59,711 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 31 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Washington County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
About 12 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
3 places to borrow in Marietta
Washington County Public Library, 615 Fifth St., Marietta.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Washington County Public Library branch.
New in Marietta? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Washington County Public Library branches in Marietta
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.77 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Marietta cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $3.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $8.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3.1M budget.
Fine-free. No late fees on books returned late.
Retail prices are typical, rounded down: a new book $17, a kids’ book $12, an e-book or e-audiobook $15, a movie rental $4, a class or program $10, a computer or Wi-Fi session $3. The average cardholder’s month = the library’s yearly loans, attendance and Wi-Fi sessions ÷ its 22,878 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marietta | Washington County Public Library fine-free | — | 53 | A |
| Williamstown | Williamstown fine-free | — | 33 | A |
| Marietta Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Muskingum Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Fearing Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Warren Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Washington County Public Library serves 59,711 people in and around Marietta, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Marietta.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average; libraries are compared with others serving about as many people. How TownRatings uses library figures →
Questions about the library and civic life in Marietta
Does Marietta have a public library?
Yes. Washington County Public Library, 615 Fifth St., serves 59,711 people in and around Marietta (the survey’s count) and is open about 53 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Washington County Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Marietta’s library?
It logged 1.9 visits and lent 9.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Marietta’s civic life grade?
A Marietta is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns on civic life, #71 of 914 in Ohio. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Marietta.
Libraries: Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024. Each library reports its own numbers. Distances are straight-line from the town center. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.